Diet breadth modulates preference - performance relationships in a phytophagous insect community.

ABSTRACT: In most phytophagous insects, larvae are less mobile than adults and their fitness depends on the plant chosen by their mother. To maximize fitness, adult preference and larval performance should thus be correlated. This correlation is not always apparent and seems to increase with the level of specialisation, i.e. specialists have a stronger preference for high quality host plant species compared to generalists. The aim of this study was to test whether the relationship between female preference and larval performance was stronger for specialists than for generalists within a community of fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae). A total of six fruit fly species was used, including four generalists, and two specialists co-existing in La Reunion island (France). We estimated oviposition preferen

SUBMITTER: Charlery de la Masseliere M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5717236 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature